Denver restaurateur Frank Bonanno back in the kitchen after hip surgery

Denver restaurateur and chef Frank Bonanno is back in the kitchen after hip surgery. (Denver Post file photo)

It has been a long six weeks for one of Denver’s busiest restaurateurs and chefs, but Frank Bonanno has returned to the kitchen after undergoing hip replacement surgery Dec. 30. What a way to usher in the New Year.

“It’s been tough,” Bonanno said. “But let me tell you, I feel better today than I did before the surgery.”

Bonanno, an active guy who spends a lot of time on his feet, had his left hip replaced. He’s scheduled to have his right hip replaced March 12, but is having second thoughts. “I’m gonna hold off,” he said. “Maybe in September. My doctor gave me a shot of cortisone and I think I can delay it a while.”

He notes that post-surgery therapy has been grueling. “I just got back to work last week and am working in short spurts,” says the man behind Bonanno concepts, whose restaurants include Mizuna, Luca d’Italia and Osteria Marco.